Wilkins on philosophy of science 12 Aug 2014 As part of the Science Week activities that informed the last few posts, I will be giving a brief introduction to philosophy of science as well as talking about the relation between science and religion shortly. The organiser of this event (on 23 August, at the East Melbourne Unitarian Church) is Adam Ford, who interviewed me for a few hours in freezing cold but picturesque surroundings in the Melbourne Royal Botanical Gardens last Sunday (it rained, which is why I’m wearing a waterproof coat. I’m not trying to look outdoorsy). Here is the first of these pieces as Adam edits them and puts them up on Youtube: More to come unless the decency police object to an old Australian… Biology Ecology and Biodiversity Evolution Genetics Philosophy Science Systematics
Epistemology tautology 1a: corrections 21 Aug 2009 So Gary Nelson reminded me of his paper on “The Two Wallaces” (2009) in which he points out that Wallace used the tautology argument himself, and responded to criticisms as early as 1873. Wallace also used the term “fitness” in a general sense. Read More
Evolution Natural selection fails with Man – W. R. Greg 12 Feb 2009 In the Descent of Man, Darwin cites a paper published about 5 years earlier by W. R. Greg, which argues that natural selection is not active among humans (or, as the convention had it then, “Man”). It is most interesting that he does, because Greg is the intellectual father of… Read More
Ecology and Biodiversity What is a disease? 13 Feb 200818 Sep 2017 Biology does normativity all the time. There are things that are the “normal” type of state of a species, an organism, an ecosystem, and so on, and things that are abnormal. But the puzzling thing is that all philosophers know, since David Hume, that normativity doesn’t develop out of facts…. Read More
So you have a number of quivers in your bone? LOL Sorry for the pun, really like the format. Keep going.